Staples Baseball Wins Rare Pitching Duel, 2-1

For the first time this season, the Staples High School baseball team was involved in a tight, low-scoring game, and it was difficult for coach Jack McFarland to watch from the bench as Greenwich constantly threatened to score.

But even though the high-scoring Wreckers were held to a pair of unearned runs, they escaped with a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday afternoon to all but wrap up the top seed for the FCIAC playoffs

Staples (16-1, 14-1 FCIAC), which has won 12 in a row,  officially can clinch the top seed with a win over St. Joseph on Friday.

Rob Gau (4-1) tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Dave Speer worked in and out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh after committing a potentially costly throwing error.

"I had a lot of help from (catcher) Grant Moss behind the plate," said Gau, who left a runner on third in each of the first four innings. "I thought our infield did a great job today, too. I  think that's the best we've looked all year infield-wise."

But it was an odd game, as the Cardinals (12-3, 11-3) stranded 13 runners overall. They left the bases loaded three times, including in each of the last two innings.

"Greenwich had a lot of guys on base, had a lot of opportunities, and we seemed to wiggle out of every inning," McFarland said. "I'm not quite sure how we did it, but it kind of worked out."

Cardinals ace Ryan Carr (2-1) became the first pitcher to shut down the Wreckers' offense this season. He was overpowering through the first three innings, striking out seven and allowing only a third-inning single to Mike Rustemeyer.

Staples, which came into Thursday's contest averaging more than 12 runs per game, managed just four hits off Carr, who went the distance. Moss was the only Wrecker with more than one hit, collecting a pair of singles.

But Staples broke through for its first run in the fourth when Greenwich shortstop Mike Dunster mishandled Tyler Jacobs' potential double-play grounder. The ball caromed off Dunster's glove and rolled into the outfield, allowing Ryan Burke, who walked, to score from second.

The Wreckers added their second run in the sixth when Ben Lipper scored on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Brennan, who was attempting to throw out Burke on a stolen base attempt.

That  turned out to be the difference in the game, as the Cardinals made things interesting in the seventh - too interesting, as far as McFarland was concerned.

Speer, who threw 110 pitches against Fairfield Ludlowe on Monday, replaced Gau with two runners on the sixth inning.  After walking Casey Gaylor to load the bases, Speer got leadoff hitter Joey Marianacci to ground out to end the inning.

But the Wreckers' ace got himself in trouble in the seventh, as his high throw to second on a comebacker left runners on first and second with one out.

"There's no excuse for why I didn't make that play," Speer said. "I had a clear throw, I just over-shot it a little  bit."

Of course, McFarland would have preferred Speer taking the sure out at first since the run at second didn't mean  really anything. It turned out to be a big play when Randall Weisenburger blooped an RBI single to shallow center field.

Staples' lead was in serious jeopardy after Brian Hoff walked to load the bases with one out. But Speer bore down to strike out Andrew Van Eyck, and Ryan Brennan grounded into a fielder's choice to end a nerve-wracking day for the
Wreckers.

"I'm just thrilled we could get the win," said Speer, who recorded his second save of the season. "Gau pitched the best game anyone has pitched for us this year. That was a huge game against the third- or fourth-ranked team in the state. It  doesn't get any bigger than that for him."

Gau also did his best work with runners on, and he helped himself with a huge play in the first inning. With runners on the corners and one out, he picked Dunster off first. First baseman Colin McCarthy then fired home to nab Yuta Okazaki at the plate trying to steal a run.

"I looked over and I saw (Dunster) leaning a little bit, so I just threw it over to Colin, and Colin made a great throw to home," said Gau, who held the Cardinals scoreless despite allowing 10 base runners - five hits and five walks.

"It's just the nature of my pitching," added Gau, who struck out six and had only one perfect inning, the fifth. "I can't just go out there, like David, and strike everyone out when I want to. I guess that's what I'm known for."

While Thursday's game may have given McFarland a few more gray hairs, he hopes winning a 2-1 game is a good sign in the long run.

"It's exactly what we needed," he said. "We've been playing a lot of high-scoring games. This is great game for us. It's going to test  your character, it's going to test your defense. It's going to test a lot of things ...  my gray hairs."